Guest column by Durwin Humphrey*
In Guyana and across the Caribbean, many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) are dying because they cannot generate enough funds to support the work they do. Given the global financial crisis of 2008 and the recent graduation of several countries, including Guyana, to the status of middle-income countries, it is no surprise that donor funding, which was the main income source for NGOs, has significantly decreased both in frequency and quantity. NGOs are now faced with a daunting task of addressing monthly expenses, such as utility bills, salaries and other operational expenses. Many have lost highly-skilled human resources as a result of dwindling finances and find it frustrating and counter-productive to use their limited resources in a seemingly never-ending and often unsuccessful effort to pursue funding from donor agencies. With little resources, NGOs must look to implement important programmes and projects, which are vital to our communities.
Development literature speaks about three main actors in development processes: government, the private sector and civil society. A robust civil society, which comprises NGOs, is very important in both democratisation and hearing the voices of the people. Research has shown the invaluable contributions made by NGOs via service delivery and advocacy in several sectors. Tremendous impact has been made in addressing HIV/AIDS, Gender-based Violence, Governance, Women’s Rights, Children’s Rights, Human Rights and countless other areas of importance. In the absence of the services NGOs provide, there is likely to be a significant loss in momentum and progress with the work being conducted in these areas.
Donor funding is the model most NGOs have